iPhone users spend 14.7 hours a month playing games

Nearly all smartphone users are willing to pay for games, but it's iPhone …

The average iPhone owner spends twice the average amount of time playing mobile games, according to a recent study done by Nielsen. The study also notes that 93 percent of customers who download apps have shelled out cash in the last 30 days to get their hands on a game, indicating that games are likely the most lucrative app category for a developer to pursue—and that iOS may have the most engaged gaming audience.

According to the study, iPhone owners are, by a large margin, most interested in quality gaming time on their smartphones. The average iPhone owner spent 14.7 hours playing mobile games over a 30 day period, while the average Android owner spent only 9.3 hours. The overall average for smartphone gamers, which includes platforms like Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry, is 7.8 hours per month.

Of course, the study doesn't control for the selection size or quality of games, which is no doubt a factor for some platforms. But games are still making the biggest impact of all the application varieties: they are the most popular category of app, with 64 percent of downloaders grabbing a game in the last 30 days. Weather apps (60 percent) and social networking apps (56 percent) aren't trailing far behind.

However, other types of apps aren't as proficient as games at enticing consumers to spend money. Only 76 percent of downloaders would spend money on a news app, for instance. Customers are most willing to spend money on games (93 percent) and "entertainment" apps (87 percent).

And when it comes to popularity, smartphone gaming beats smartphone learning: while 64 percent of app downloaders picked up games, only 11 percent got themselves an "education/learning" app.

I'm curious about time spent playing games on tablets. I would tend to think that more hours are spent playing games on tablets than phones on average per device. I have an Android phone (D2) and an Android tablet (Transformer) and I spend about 15 minutes a day playing games on my phone, and more than 30 minutes a day playing games on my tablet.

iPhone users are such losers... or not losers. I am a little confused as to the end goal.

8^P

Depends on what you're trying to say is the good thing... if you're #1 in something, whatever it is is a good thing. If you're not, then it's a bad thing. So... in this case, spending lots of time playing games is a good thing. However, the other vendors may say that spending all your time playing games means you're wasting time and not otherwise being productive. It's like when we were kids playing our computer/console games... we thought it was a good thing but our parents didn't like it and wanted us to do our chores instead.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

But games are still making the biggest impact of all the application varieties: they are the most popular category of app, with 64 percent of downloaders grabbing a game in the last 30 days. Weather apps (60 percent) and social networking apps (56 percent) aren't trailing far behind.

I'm not sure this is correct -- in fact, the chart in the linked article is not labeled very well. It has the sub title "Category of Apps Used in the Past 30 days", but then has another sub title that states "Past 30-Day App Downloaders". I think it's saying "Of the people that have downloaded an app in the last 30 days, this is the percentage of app types used by them". Which would make sense since people tend to use weather apps once a day or so. Of course I could be misinterpreting the meaning as well.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Careful, you were making my ban finger itch, I thought your post was a bot poorly trying to contextually comment on our story at first.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Careful, you were making my ban finger itch, I thought your post was a bot poorly trying to contextually comment on our story at first.

A bot would have actually attempted to add something useful to the thread by offering some good or service. This troll is just cravenly threadshitting. I say drop the banhammer.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Careful, you were making my ban finger itch, I thought your post was a bot poorly trying to contextually comment on our story at first.

LOL... I actually had my mouse pointer over the SpamHammer when I first saw it.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Careful, you were making my ban finger itch, I thought your post was a bot poorly trying to contextually comment on our story at first.

A bot would have actually attempted to add something useful to the thread by offering some good or service. This troll is just cravenly threadshitting. I say drop the banhammer.

Since you seem to be unfamiliar with some basic literary forms, I'd just like to be of assistance.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Keep clicking on through and posting inane comments, and they'll keep serving up those high click-rate articles you hate so much, but can't seem to stop yourself from clicking on.

EDIT: Needed to add a smiley, because I did actually find your post humorous.

I have had periods of iPhone game addiction. Flight Control, Harbor Master and Plants vs Zombies to name a few.

Plants vs. Zombies is a horrible, evil, wretched game ... that I can not stop playing.

I've never tried it. Is it good?

These days I've stopped playing games and just scroll through the many years of Dilbert cartoons when I find the time.

It's like every other tower defence game - boring and played out. The only people that get addicted to this crap are the kinds of people who just can't let go of their "comfortable" games. You know, Counter Strike players.

That works out to about 30 minutes a day. It sounds about right for a mobile game. And isn't the data counting iOS as a whole platform and not just targetting iPhone users?

If you count in the touch nad ipad, they'll most likely pad the iphone average up quite a bit. Touches particularly are just media consumption devices so you would expect a higher average coming out of that group.

The data isn't telling us anything new is it? We already know games would be the hot category but it's also very misleading. I'm willing to bet most of the games being played are the simplest, free versions like word games. - I personally spend an average of 10hour a month just on Wordament on WP7, which is just a simple Word game.-

Of the paid games, I would also guess that it's the .99c games absorbing ppl's times. For developers, they are still going to face the same problems, with most not making anything or making losses.

Hell, not to be cynical, but I know people who claim they spend massive amounts of time gaming on their phones when in fact, most of that time is just downloading and tryign out different games for a minute or 2 before never playing it again.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Hi there. You must be one of those people who can't grasp the simple concept that Ars has an Apple section among its 8 main content categories, which basically makes it 1/8th of an Apple-related content site. You can complain all you want about Ars over-representing Apple products, but the fact remains that 1/8th of Ars is exactly dedicated to that. There is no hidden Apple fanboy agenda, the Apple section is clearly marked as one of the Ars content sections.

Ars has a dedicated Microsoft section too, do you complain about that as well? I hope so.

I wonder about new Apple iPhone design with the iOS update to use the App Store to download Angry Birds for my future iPhone 5 / 4G / 4GS. I am interested in games on my Apple iPhone smartphone device that Steve Jobs made in Cupertino California on Infinite Loop street. I wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking about the iPhone prototype they are testing right now. I heard they are going to update the old ass Maps app that Apple designed, not Google. I think there will be some iphony new iPhone features for the new Apple iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone

Hi there. You must be one of those people who can't grasp the simple concept that Ars has an Apple section among its 8 main content categories, which basically makes it 1/8th of an Apple-related content site. You can complain all you want about Ars over-representing Apple products, but the fact remains that 1/8th of Ars is exactly dedicated to that. There is no hidden Apple fanboy agenda, the Apple section is clearly marked as one of the Ars content sections.

Ars has a dedicated Microsoft section too, do you complain about that as well? I hope so.

When ars starts with 4 rumor posts a day about the new Windows 8 phone or inane statistics like this one that add exactly nothing useful whatsoever I pledge to write a scathingly satirical response that resembles spam email there as well. Does that satiate your strange desire for equity among phone fanboys?

I`m lucky if I play 14 minutes a month on my iPad/iPhone, usually solitaire if I`m waiting for an appointment. I`m an avid gamer, but I just can`t get into the whole mobile gaming genre for the same reason I detested the Wii when I had it, the games are just too shallow and uninteresting to bother with IMO. If I want to game I`d rather do it on my PC.

But games are still making the biggest impact of all the application varieties: they are the most popular category of app, with 64 percent of downloaders grabbing a game in the last 30 days. Weather apps (60 percent) and social networking apps (56 percent) aren't trailing far behind.

I'm not sure this is correct -- in fact, the chart in the linked article is not labeled very well. It has the sub title "Category of Apps Used in the Past 30 days", but then has another sub title that states "Past 30-Day App Downloaders". I think it's saying "Of the people that have downloaded an app in the last 30 days, this is the percentage of app types used by them". Which would make sense since people tend to use weather apps once a day or so. Of course I could be misinterpreting the meaning as well.

That was kinda my interpretation, but not exactly. Oddly, I agree with "it's saying 'Of the people that have downloaded an app in the last 30 days, this is the percentage of app types used by them'," but you lose me with, "Which would make sense since people tend to use weather apps once a day or so." Let's say that 100 people surveyed had downloaded an app in the last 30 days. Of those, 64 played a game during that same span. 60 of them used a weather app during the span. Only six of them used a "household/personal care" app though. We have no idea what types of apps were downloaded in the last month, only what app types were used by recent-downloaders. (didDownloadApp && didPlayGame)

Also, the bit in the article that says, "The study also notes that 93 percent of customers who download apps have shelled out cash in the last 30 days to get their hands on a game," is pretty much wrong. What the study says is, of those who have paid for an app in the last 30 days, 93% are willing to spend money on games as a general rule, while only 76% of said users would be willing to spend money on a news app. IOW, considering only those actively buying apps, it's easiest to sell games to them, while entertainment, productivity, and mapping apps are all basically tied for second when it comes to marketability. (didPurchaseApp && wouldPurchaseGame)

One odd thing about the study itself: It says that 14% of iPhone users are playing "pre-loaded" games, but I'm reasonably sure the iPhone doesn't have any.